To Die For Carrot Cake

4.95 from 539 votes

This To Die For Carrot Cake receives rave reviews for it's unbelievable moistness and flavor! Truly the BEST CARROT CAKE you'll ever try! So easy to make and as an added bonus, there's no oil or butter! I know this cake will quickly become a family favorite!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword carrot cake, carrot cake recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings slices

Calories 499kcal

Author Trish - Mom On Timeout

Ingredients

Cake:

One

1 ¼ cups unsweetened applesauce or oil, this is what my Nana used
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs room temperature

Two

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Three

2 cups grated carrots
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped nuts optional
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Dole crushed pineapple not drained! {use the pineapple in JUICE not syrup}

Cream Cheese Frosting:

½ cup butter softened
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
top with toasted pecans or coconut if desired

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine #1 ingredients. Add #2 ingredients. Stir in #3 ingredients.
Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 , two 9-inch pans or three 8-inch pans. (The cake is very moist so cutting parchment for the bottom of your pans will ensure they don't stick. I prefer to use the non-stick baking spray that has the flour in it for easy cake removal.)
Bake for 35-40 minutes for the 9x13 and 9-inch pans and 25-30 minutes for the 8-inch pans. You're looking for an inserted toothpick to come out clean.
Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For the frosting:

Beat the butter and cream cheese until nice and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until nice and smooth.
Invert the cake onto a cake plate or stand.
Apply a generous dollop of frosting and spread...
Gently place the second cake on top and continue frosting. Repeat with the third cake if you made three.
Refrigerate for an hour before serving for best results.

Video

Notes

The frosting recipe can be doubled if you are planning on piping a border and adding a lot of frosting decorations to the top of the cake.

Nutrition